Tag: Microbiota

Somewhat serendipitously, Salk Institute researchers discovered that depleting the microbiomes of mice causes the animals to have lower levels of blood glucose as well as improved insulin sensitivity [1]. Abstract Antibiotic-induced microbiome depletion (AIMD) has been used frequently to study the role of the gut microbiome in pathological conditions. However, unlike germ-free mice, the effects…

Today, we wanted to draw your attention to a review of aging and the role that the gut microbiome plays in it. There is an increasing amount of evidence for the contribution of microbial burden in the chronic, age-related background of inflammation known as “inflammaging“. There are a number of proposed sources of inflammaging, including…

Today, we are going to take a look at the emerging theory that inflammaging, a chronic, age-related background of inflammation, is caused by alterations to the populations of intestinal microbes. What is inflammaging? Inflammaging is a term coined to describe the chronic, smoldering background of inflammation that accompanies the aging process. It is constant, low-grade…

A new study published by researchers at Western University and Lawson Health Research Institute has shown a link between the gut microbiome and atherosclerosis. During the study, the team examined blood levels of metabolic products in the gut microbiomes of 316 people from three groups: those with regular levels of plaque for their age, those…

The aging process is accompanied by a chronic, smoldering background of inflammation that researchers call “inflammaging”. This backdrop of low-grade inflammation contributes significantly to mortality risk in the elderly and has a number of sources. Today, we are going to take a look at inflammaging and the various known sources that promote this age-related inflammatory…

We have all seen it, the age-related loss of muscle mass and increasing frailty that generally accompanies advancing age. Recently the World Health Organization classified this age-related muscle wastage as a disease and thus sarcopenia entered official usage to describe it. There are a number of potential causes of sarcopenia and new research suggests that…

The next Journal Club will be on November 28th at 13:00 EST/18:00 UK and will be streamed live from the Cooper Union, New York, to our Facebook page. We will be discussing the following paper and be exploring the weird and wonderful world of the microbiota and its role in aging. Thevaranjan, N., Puchta, A., Schulz, C., Naidoo, A.,…

Changes to the microbiome in the gut may explain why related conditions are linked to different risk levels and types of gastric tumors, according to a new study. What are the microbiota and microbiome? The microbiota is an “ecological community of commensal, symbiotic and pathogenic microorganisms” found in and on all multicellular organisms. A microbiota…

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a β-herpesvirus that infects the majority of people in the world, lying dormant and waiting for an opportunity to strike. This persistent virus remains in people for their entire lives once they are infected. CMV contributes to microbial burden as we age, and our dwindling immune cell populations are tied up keeping…